"We of Northern Chu will not ask for too much. After all, we contributed nothing on the main battlefield. I am well aware of that." Jiang Ming sat across from Han Xin, wearing the exact same smile he had worn when negotiating with King Xie of Zhao.
Han Xin's expression stiffened slightly. He did not know what to say.
Should he call Xiang An shameless, or Jiang Ming shameless?
Rubbing his forehead, Han Xin could not help but sigh again. When Xiang An stood beside him, the two of them were truly outstanding and perfectly in sync. But when Xiang An stood across from him...
"I've never seen you use such petty tricks before," Han Xin muttered involuntarily.
"General Han, what did you say?" Jiang Ming had not heard clearly and looked rather bewildered.
"Ah, nothing, nothing. Lord Jiang, please continue." Han Xin blinked, forcing a stiff smile onto his face.
"...I'm finished? General Han, you..." Jiang Ming spread his hands, looking utterly lost.
Han Xin looked equally lost.
"Um... how about you say it again?" Han Xin had already begun cursing inwardly.
He had not hesitated in the slightest when sitting in the main seat of the command tent. He had even enjoyed it. But asking him to sit at a negotiating table...
Forget it.
Yet his bewilderment and clumsy negotiating skills successfully dragged Jiang Ming down with him.
"...So, all the grain goes to you, we take the money, and you do not want the territory either?"
"Yes, naturally." Jiang Ming felt utterly exhausted. "Then... that is it?"
"That is it, then." Han Xin felt exhausted too.
And just like that, Zhao was gone.
Other than the utterly useless Gong Ao, only three lords remained.
King Xiang Yu of Western Chu occupied the fertile lands from the central